The House of Representative on Tuesday voted 215 to 205 kill the privacy rules, formulated by the FCC, which were aimed at preventing internet service providers (ISPs) from selling their customers’ web browsing histories and app usage to advertisers. Without these protections, Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and other ISPs will have complete freedom to collect information about their customers’ browsing and app-usage behavior, then sell this information to advertisers.

The House of Representative on Tuesday voted 215 to 205 kill the privacy rules, formulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which were aimed at preventing internet service providers (ISPs) from selling their customers’ web browsing histories and app usage to advertisers.

The privacy regulations were scheduled to go into effect by the end of this year.

The rules required ISPs to obtain customers’ permission before selling the customers’ information to advertisers.

The vote in the House – and an earlier vote in the Senate – largely followed party lines, and GOP majorities in both chambers voted to do away with the FCC’s privacy protections.

The Vergereports that without these protections, Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and other ISPs will have complete freedom to collect information about their customers’ browsing and app-usage behavior, then sell this information to advertisers.

The congressional vote means that customers can no longer control what personal information the ISPs collect – and what the ISPs do with this information.

Analysts note that this information offers many rewards to advertisers – because ISPs can now, without customers’ consent, sell advertisers information customers’ personal data, such as health concerns, shopping habits, and visits to porn sites.

Since ISPs can find out where customers bank, what their political views and sexual orientation are, and much more — simply based on the websites these customers visit – these ISPs are in possession of information advertisers covet.

“Give me one good reason why Comcast should know what my mother’s medical problems are,” said congressman Mike Capuano (D-Massachusetts) before the vote. “Just last week I bought underwear on the internet. Why should you know what size I take? Or the color?”

“Consumers should be in control of their own information,” added congressman Jared Polis (D-Colorado). “They shouldn’t be forced to sell it to who knows who simply for the price of admission to access the internet.”

Lawmakers who supported killing the privacy rules argued that the rules discriminated against ISPs, because companies such as Google and Facebook are allowed to collect information about their customers’ web habits – and sell this information, without the customers’ consent, to advertisers.

The ISPs argued that doing away with the privacy rules would give them a bigger return on their investment in infrastructure, and that, in any event, web browsing history and app usage should not be considered as “sensitive” information.

Privacy advocated argued that there are major differences between ISPs, on the one hand, and Google and Facebook, on the other hand. One can choose not to use Google or Facebook, but one cannot choose not to use an ISP, because then connection to the internet would not be possible. In addition, there are many tools available to block tracking by companies such as Google and Facebook, but it is much more difficult to block the collection of information by ISPs (one may use a VPN or Tor, but then browsing becomes more difficult).

Jeremy Gillula told the Guardian that there are not many option left for privacy advocates to block the the congressional move – but that he has not given up hope. “It’s certainly a bit of a Hail Mary, but I think we’d try to convince President Trump that signing a bill that helps big corporate interests by eliminating Americans’ privacy and weakening their cybersecurity isn’t exactly ‘draining the swamp’.”

“If that doesn’t work, then we can still try to make some headway with state legislatures; continue working to encrypt the entire web; and work harder on creating other, easy-to-use tools people can use to protect their privacy from the snooping eyes of their internet provider.”

Ernesto Omar Falcon, the EFF’s Legislative Counsel, writes:

Should President Donald Trump sign S.J. Res. 34 into law, big Internet providers will be given new powers to harvest your personal information in extraordinarily creepy ways. They will watch your every action online and create highly personalized and sensitive profiles for the highest bidder. All without your consent. This breaks with the decades long legal tradition that your communications provider is never allowed to monetize your personal information without asking for your permission first. This will harm our cybersecurity as these companies become giant repositories of personal data. It won’t be long before the government begins demanding access to the treasure trove of private information Internet providers will collect and store.